During the Iraq war, private defense contractors providing security and support outnumbered troops on the ground at points. Contractors can enhance US military capacity but also entail risks. US experience with private security contractors holds several key lessons.
mer·ce·nary noun \mr-s-ner-ē, -ne-rē\ a soldier who is paid by a foreign country to fight in its army : a soldier who will fight for any group or country that hires him (Merriam-Webster) Say that you work for a private security company (PSC) and most people think one of two things: Either you are a mall cop. […]
Over the past decade, private contractors have been deployed extensively around the globe. In addition to supporting U.S. and allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, contractors have assisted foreign governments, nongovernmental organizations, and private businesses by providing a wide range of services, including base support and maintenance, logistical support, transportation, intelligence, communications, construction, and security. […]
Four years ago, President Barack Obama declared the end of the Iraq war. So much of that fight and our current involvement in the Middle East is carried out by a privatized military. Back in 2003 Iraq invasion, there was the predictable commentary about why we went to war and what the consequences were. And there […]
So you’re getting out of the military soon, or separated recently and you thought you would jump into the world of private contracting. The pay is lucrative, the brotherhood you miss from military life is there, and you like to travel – so why not? Whether it’s the glamorous world of high threat mobile security […]